For one to be silenced, detached from the world, and secluded because of something he or she represents is something someone should never have to experience. There are many other horrid things one sees in our world, but for one to be silenced and ashamed to speak up because of what he or she represents is a horrific idea. To become an “other” in society because of a feeling of being silenced is what causes isolation and depression, which can lead to dangerous behavior. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester finds herself in that very situation, becoming silenced among her community because of something she represents.
“Hester Prynne, therefore did not flee. On the outskirts of the town, within the verge of the peninsula, but not in close vicinity to any other habitation, there was a small thatched cottage. It had been built by an earlier settler, and abandoned, because the soil about it was too sterile for cultivation, while its comparative remoteness put it out of the sphere of that social activity which already marked the habits of the emigrants” (Hawthorne, 1850. p. 73).
“Hester Prynne, therefore did not flee. On the outskirts of the town, within the verge of the peninsula, but not in close vicinity to any other habitation, there was a small thatched cottage. It had been built by an earlier settler, and abandoned, because the soil about it was too sterile for cultivation, while its comparative remoteness put it out of the sphere of that social activity which already marked the habits of the emigrants” (Hawthorne, 1850. p. 73).
Let's not shame... Let's embrace!
Can I get back to the beginning?
Deja Vu
Carry on Wayward Son!